River of the Dead: A Shadowhunter Fanfic

Chapter 5

Autumn didn't feel sadness as her mother left through the front door. Instead, she felt a shock of burning hatred in her veins, to her surprise.

She clenched her fists as she walked through the door. Chris sat on the leather couch, his head in his hands. "Go back to sleep, Autumn," he snapped without looking up.

"It's too late to go back to bed," she replied softly. "Did she really go?"

After what seemed like forever, Chris looked up at her with his dark brown eyes. "Yes," he said quietly. "I tried... I tried to get her to stay..."

"I know," quickly Autumn said. "I know. I was listening. I know you loved her too..."

His eyes widened, and his cheeks turned a bright shade of red. He was blushing. "N-No, I don't, of course not... I.. it doesn't matter anyway," he stuttered nervously. Autumn rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I did," he said, his voice low.

Autumn sat up straight. "So why didn't you go with her?"

"You and River need someone... I always thought that if they didn't have a father, I could be that father. But now it looks like you two don't have a mother now," he said.

Jake wandered into the room, yawning. He wore a plain white shirt and drawstring pants. "Morning," he mumbled and stumbled into the kitchen. "Where's Emilia? She usually makes us pancakes. I don't see any."

Chris ignored him, stood and walked into his room. Pushing past Irene in the hallway, who was fully dressed is training gear.

"Hi," she said, her gaze in Autumn's direction. Autumn noticed something cold in her almost-black eyes. It felt as if she was shooting icicles through Autumn's body.

The look disappeared, of course, as Drew and River came in at the same time as the front door burst open. Thalia came in, struggling to pull her pastel green suitcase through the door. "Hey guys!" she yelled. "A little help, maybe?"

Autumn ran towards her parabatai and gave her a warm hug. Thalia had wavy, light brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail on the back of her head and had a skinny yet curvy body. Her eyes were a grey blue, and she had a flawless complexion. Autumn had always envied her parabatai's beauty.

"You're back early from London," Autumn mentioned as she and Thalia dragged her overloaded suitcase into her room.

Thalia crossed her arms frowned. "Yes, I am," she replied. "I got this weird feeling and my parabatai rune started... doing weird things, and I knew something was wrong here, so I begged my parents to let me take the portal here."

"So your parents are still in Idris?" Autumn asked. Thalia nodded. Thalia Greenwood lived in a mansion, as her parents were quite wealthy. She would come to the Institute to train when her parents left to Idris for Clave meetings, but this time her parent wanted her to see Idris, home of the Shadowhunters, for the first time.

The two had been best friends since they were three, and when they were eleven, they decided to become parabatai. Autumn's father had died only one month after the parabatai ceremony.

"When you're going through dark times, always trust your parabatai. They're the closest to understanding what you're going through, even though they're not experiencing it," Autumn's father once said. "A parabatai relationship is more than just a rune and an oath. It's a connection."

Autumn inhaled. "Thalia, I have something to tell you."